European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso noted the importance of Russia’s decision to refrain from suspending deliveries of gas to Ukraine while the talks were in progress

Jose Manuel Barroso

BRUSSELS, June 05. /ITAR-TASS/. European Union is committed to the settlement of a Ukrainian-Russian dispute over the prices for natural gas and this settlement is possible, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told a news conference upon the end of a summit meeting of the Group of Seven.

He recalled that, through the mediation of the European Commission, Ukraine had agreed to pay up a part of its debt for gas and Russia had agreed to discuss the future price for gas.

Barroso pointed out the importance of Russia’s decision to refrain from suspending deliveries of gas to Ukraine while the talks were in progress. He also stressed the two countries’ decision not to take the litigation over gas to the international court.

Ukraine insists on the recalculation of its debt for gas supplied in 2013 on the basis of a discounted price of $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters for January-March.

Moscow recently substantially raised the price for gas supplied to Ukraine from the figure of $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters agreed last year when an association agreement with the European Union was shelved in November 2013.

The price rose due to the return to earlier contract agreements, as Ukraine failed to pay for supplied volumes of Russian gas in time and due to denunciation of the Kharkiv Accords with Ukraine in early April, which had been struck in 2010.

The Kharkiv deals stipulated that Russia’s lease of naval facilities in Crimea (then part of Ukraine) would be extended by 25 years beyond 2017 - until 2042. The agreements envisioned a gas supply discount. Now that Crimea has become part of Russia, the discount is no longer applied.